Trusting SHORT TERM 12’s Destin Cretton & Brie Larson

Destin Cretton based SHORT TERM 12 on his own experiences working at a group home for foster kids, and it’s not his first film to deal with that. SHORT TERM 12 began as a short film, and one of the first questions I had for the writer/director as why he wanted to return to the subject with a feature-length film. It led to a conversation with both him and his star, Brie Larson, about the unexpected joy found in even the most dispiriting situations. We went on to discuss the power of the super-soaker, why cupcakes have to be labeled, and how a sense of humor is as integral as trust in getting through life in one piece.

Said life is not easy for the staff and residents of the eponymous foster-care facility, but this is a story at once wrenching and uplifting about breaking cycles and never giving up. Larson who delivers a powerful and fearless performance, that won’t be forgotten come awards season, plays Grace, who supervises the line staff at a foster care facility that is the last hope for underprivileged kids with emotional problems that can’t be dealt with elsewhere. Though she is in a loving relationship with her co-worker, Mason, played by John Gallagher, Jr., Grace is also harboring a painful secret, as well as dealing with her own demons from her childhood that resurface with her latest charge, Jayden, a wealthy kid placed in short term 12 when her options run out. The film co-stars Kaitlyn Dever, Stephanie Beatriz, Rami Malik, and Keith Stanfield. Cretton directed from his own script.